Pinspiration Monday: Polaroid clothesline

Remember a couple of months ago when I spouted off about my most recent electronic purchase, a new Fuji Film Instax 210? If not, let’s just say that my excitement overshadowed my actual talent with the camera…Not so good. It took me a couple of wasted polaroid shots to realize that Mr. Instax is not a fan of close-ups. But I think I’ve FINALLY gotten the hang of it and have since captured these four decent new photos:

John’s dad’s vintage Porsche parked at a GORGEOUS overlook on the parkway

A farmhouse at the apple orchard our families have (separately and unknowingly) gone to since we were kids

The riverside view from a bridge up in the mountains

John and I with “Harvey the hay worm” – A hay sculpture of, guess what, a worm! (oh, and my dad’s head can be seen peering over the back center of Harvey’s back)

I have had MUCH better success with the distant landscape polaroids then I did with the indoor close-ups. Now that I am finally starting to feel confident with the film, I decided it was time to construct a way to show it off – Enter stage left this Pinterest inspiration image:

It seemed simple enough – Hang your polaroids inside of an old frame as though it’s a clothesline, using twine and clips. Only problem was where to put it…We are quickly running out of wall space, what with our gallery wall in the foyer, the new staircase gallery, the art in the upstairs hall, the plate wall in the kitchen, etc. etc. But there was still one space that hadn’t been filled – That is, in our main floor powder room. We have one set of artwork from Target, but the adjacent wall was blankedy-blank-blank.

With a hanging spot now in mind, I got to work on the frame. I recently acquired this one when I helped my mom clean out some closets in their house (they are getting new carpet this week and jumped on the excuse to make me get rid of all the stuff I had taking up room in their closets – I don’t blame them). Luckily I was able to snatch up this empty frame (from a college art show way back when), knowing in the back of my mind that it was destined for this project.

The only problem was the color/finish…A little traditional for our tastes. So a couple of quick coats of bright yellow spray paint later and we were headed in the right direction. You can still see the crackle detail in the finish, but it’s not so aged looking. More in the modern century now.

The only other things I needed were twine and push pins. It was very simple – Just tie a knot in the twine, push the pin through it and then hammer it into the back of the wooden frame. Then pull the string taught and straight across the frame and hammer in another pin. I had a few mishaps with bent and damaged pins, but John’s best friend, Luke, helped me out with his steady hand and gung-ho spirit.

I used clothespins like in the inspiration image, but for a more industrial look you could go with mini silver binder clips. John and Luke actually went out in search of those clips for me, but after VERY kindly checking three or four different places, they came back empty handed…The clothespins are perfectly fine though, and I have a new respect for the two special men in my life

Here’s the framed photos on the wall in the bathroom – I love how the yellow pops off of the gray wall. The great thing about this is that the photos can be changed out with absolutely no trouble at all! I am definitely looking forward to adding and changing around the photos as I get more shots with my new Instax.

What were you guys up to this weekend? Speaking of photos, John and I had our engagement photo shoot with Katie Stoops (our wedding photographer) and it was AMAZING!!! She was so easy to get along with and I think we got some pretty amazing pictures. We are itching to get the film back to put up all over our house, I’m sure…And then I got to switch and be BEHIND the camera for a little maternity photo shoot for my friend Bonnie! Perhaps she’ll let me share some of that with you guys a little later

vintagekaren-A nice interpretation of your inspiration photo! Would regular photos work too?? Or maybe postcards. I could see this looking fab with vintage postcards!ReplyCancel

November 22, 2011 - 11:15 am

Carrie-Thank you! And it would DEFINITELY work with regular photos – Love the idea of postcards too…I collect art work postcards from every art museum I’ve ever been to and displaying them in this way is a great thought. Thanks for the inspiration!ReplyCancel